Acetylene-gas generator.



' W. M. REECE.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 3, i914. Y

PatentedSept. 21, 1915.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

aW/UQ/MM MM. Peace. I

COLUMBIA FLANDGRAPH 130., WASHINGTOIJ. D C

Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

W W M W. M. REECE.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 3. 1914.

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m erase Ar 7 I LIAM M. Rance, or orr MwA, Iowa;

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 3, 19M. 7 Serial No. 816,231. 7 I

citizen of the United States, residing at ()ttumwa, in the county of lVapello, and.

State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful- Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Generators, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates broadly to acetylene gas generatorsof the type which are buried in the ground and inc-ased ,ina concrete or cement envelop.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an acetylene gas generator in which the gas bell is so arranged that it will automatically operate to feed a quantityof carbid into the water c'ontainer when the volume of gas in'the generator falls below a point, and will also act to. automatically shut-off the supply of carbid when the volume of gas increases toajpredetermined point.

An object of equalflimportance with the foregoing is to provide a gas generator constructed with such regard to proportion, number and arrangement ofparts that it may be cheaply manufactured, will be durable and efiicient in its action, and may be quickly disassembled to permit the substitution of new parts for those partsof the device which may have become damaged or broken in use. t

, The above and additional objects are ac 'complished by suchmeans as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in .the following specification, and then 'more particularlypointed out in the claims, which are appended hereto andform apart of this application.

spective View illustrating in detail the float controlled valve which is arranged at the mouth of the carbid receptacle for regulating the amount of carbid which is fed into the gas generating chamber; and Fig. 1 is a vertical section taken through the preferred form of filter.

Coming now .to the description of the l, in which the'invention isbest illustrated as an ent rety, the numerals 10 and 11 designate respectively themetallic-lined concrete casing and the generator which is positioned therein. The casing 10 is, as stated, preferably formed of concrete, although some other plastic-material may be employed if found desirable,and is substantially cylindrical in form. The casing 10 is poured after the outer casing 13of the generator has been arranged withina receiving pit which has been previously dug. The pit is, of course, of greater diameter than the casing 13, so that an annular chamber is formed-between the member 13 and the wall of the pit. Itmay be well to explain at this point that the outer casing 18 is designed to form a packingbox or receptacle in which the various parts of the generator may be shipped or stored, and that the concrete casing 10 serves as a wate' receptacle for the generator after the casing 13 has been destroyed by rust. The outer casing 13 is preferably formed of corrugated sheet steel so thatthe concrete will act as a binder for holding the member against rotation ,andagainst accidental wlth'drawal from the pit. A rectangular wooden rim or frame, indicated. at

14, is applied to the upper terminal of the member 10. so that a wooden closure 15,

PatentedSept. 21,;1915. V

I drawings, and referring particularly toFig; a

The generator, hereinbefore designated as an entirety by the numeral 11, includes a body member 16 within which is arranged a carbid hopper 17, and a gas bell 18, which is mounted in the well known mannerto in case the body member16. The body member 16 of the generator consists preferably in a cylinder of sheet metal,the lower terminal of which is equipped with an outwardly directed annular flange 19, adapted to be riveted or otherwise secured, as at 20, to the bottom wall 21 of the member 13. The upper end of the body casing 16 is open,.but is normally closed by the carbid hopper 17. This carbid hopper 17 is,simi-larly to the member 16, formed from sheet metal, and includes an upper cylindrical portion 22 and a lower conical portion 23. At the junction of t'he members 22 and 23 is formed, by

stamping or pressing, an outwardly extending annular flange 24, which is of such difore, now be had to that figure.

ameter that it will engage over the upper edge of the member 16, and thus hold the carbid hopper in the proper position, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Extending through the carbid hopper, and arranged eccentri-v disk-like closure 28, and the lower terminal of which is externally threaded so that it may be engaged in a coupling 29. This coupling 29 is threaded on the upper terminal of a gas conducting pipe30. A strip of felt, flannel or some other similar filtering cloth, indicated at 31, is arranged to incase the perforate shell 27, being held against displacement therefrom by means of binding wires 32. The upper binding wire is wound around the upper end of the cloth, serving, as shown in Fig.4, to close this upper end of the cloth. The lower binding wire 32, however, is wound externally around the lowei-"edge of-the cloth 31, and is disposed to press a portion of the cloth into a peripheral groove which is formed in a disk member 32. i This disk member 32 is formed with a central opening so that it may be threaded on the coupling 29, as best shown in Fig. 4.

Reverting now'to the description of the carbid hopper, and referring particularly to Fig. 1, it will be seenthat the apex of the conicalportion 23 terminates in a substantially cylindrical sleeve or mouth 33, which is soldered or otherwise secured at its upper terminal, as at 34, to the inner wall of the hopper. The extreme lower terminal of the conical portion 23 is directed outwardly at an angle to form a shedding ring which will deflect the water of condensation which may run down the outside of the member 17. It is, of course, necessary to normally seal the mouth or sleeve 33 so that the carbid will not issue into the member 16 except at pro-determined intervals. There has, therefore, been provided a compound valve memberwhich consists in two co-acting ele ments. These two elements are designated by the numerals 35 and 36, the former of which is a metallic tube, and the latter of which is a cup-shaped plate or disk valve. The tubular member 35 is mounted for vertical sliding movement through a guide sleeve 37, which extends vertically andpreferably centrally through the casing. The upper end of the sleeve 37 is secured in any desired manner to the closure 39 of the car- ,bid hopper, being arranged to surround the In the lower terminal ofthe valve member 35 is threaded a plug 45 adapted to receive the threaded terminal of a valve stem 46. This stem 46 is slightly greater in length than the mouth 33 of the hopper, and is threaded at its lower terminal whereby it may be inserted through an opening formed in the disk valve 36 and'threaded into the upper terminal ofthe float rod 47. On the lower terminal of this float rod 47 is mounted a conical shell float 48, which is preferably formed of sheet metal, and co-acts with the gas bell 18 in operating the valve members of the carbid hopper, as will be hereinafter, fully explained in that portion of the specification devoted to the description of the operationof the generator.

The gas conducting pipe, heretofore designated by the numeral 30, extends downwardly through the generator and is connected at its lower terminal to a second gas conducting pipe 49 by means of a short length of pipe, indicated at 50, and of an elbow 51 and a coupling 52. This second pipe 49 is embedded in the concrete casing 10. A short length of pipe, indicated at 52 extends downwardly from the coupling 52, being embedded in concrete, as shown in Fig. 1 particularly. This member 52 is closed at its lower terminal by the plug and serves as a trap or drip pipe for the water of condensation accumulating in the pipe 49. At its upper terminal, this pipe 49 is connected by a coupling 53 to a service pipe 54. The coupling 53 is of the three-way type, the one opening receiving the pipe 49, the second opening receiving the service pipe while the third opening is provided'with a threaded plug closure, indicated at 55. This plug 55 may be removed to permit a pump to be connected with the pipe 49 for drawing the water of condensation out of the trap 52. If desired, a rod having a swab on its end may be inserted in the pipe 49 for removing the water of condensation from the member 52. A pet-cock 56 is tapped into the side of the opening 53 so that air may be expelled from the pipe 49 when the generator is first filled with carbid, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

A flat head service cock, indicated at 57, is, of course, interposed in the service pipe for the usual purpose. This cook 57 is arranged in a small hole in the ground, as indicated at 59, so that access may be readily pipe. In the body casing 16 of the generator, and at the approximate center thereof are formed two circumferentially extending series of apertures, indicated at 60 and 61,

while in the closure wall 39 of this casing are provided a number of openings '62 through which the carbid is poured when the hopper 17 is being filled. An opening is formed in the top wall of the gas bell 18, in

thus described in detail, it now remains to explain the manner in which the generator operates. Briefly the operation is' as follows: Having closed the cock57,the cap 6l on top of the gas bell 18 is then removed, and the gas bell taken out by means of the handle 65. The operator then removes the carbid hopper by means of the bail at. He then fills the casing 13 with water until the liquid flows through the lower series of holes,

indicated at 60, and fills the inner casing "to the level of the pipe braces, indicated at 58.

' The hopper 17 is then filled with carbid and mounted on the upper edge of the casing 16, beingpositioned to receive the filter 26 within the sleeve 25, in a manner hereinbefore explained. When the carbid hopper is being lowered to its operative position on the member 16, the handle member 44 of the tubular valve 35 is pulled up to bring the disk valve 36 into sealing engagement against the lower terminal of the mouth 33. This sealing of the disk valve against the mouth of the hopper, of course, prevents the issuance of carbid into the water while the hopper is being lowered. The next step is to open the pet-cock 56 so that when the gas bell 18 is lowered into the generator, the air may pass out through the pipe 19, or otherwise it would, of course, be impossible to lower the gas bell into its proper position. The gas bell is allowed to sink by gravity until it comes into engagement with the upper terminal of the tubular valve 35. The gas bell will, of course, in bearing against the valve depress this member so that the disk valve 36 will be spaced from the mouth 33 of the carbid hopper, allowing a certain quantity of carbid to drop into the water. The generation of the acetylene gas is thus initiated.

The gas generated in the casing 16 passes through the openings 61 to the space comprehended between the member 16 and the gas bell. The gas then rises into the upper portion of the gas bell, and seeking to escape enters the sleeve 25 at both the upper and lower terminals thereof. The gas is, as previously stated, filtered by the fabric wrapping of the filter before it enters the pipe 31. The gas passes through the pipe 31 into the pipe 49, and when the operator notices an appreciable escape of gas through the petcock 56 this member is turned to closed position. The turn'plu'g 57 is then opened so that the gas may enter the service pipe. As the gas continues to generate, the volume of gas, of course, increases and tends to lift thebell. The lifting'of the gas. bell allows the buoyant force of the float member 28; to become efiective on the disk valve 36 and tubular valve 35. When the float 48 has moved the disk valve-36 upwardly until it is in sealing engagement with the'lower terminal of the mouth 33, it will be obvious that the lower terminal of the tubular valve 35 will have been moved upwardly to open the lower end of the conical portion 23 so that carbid will pass down into the mouth 33, completely filling this member. It is ob-- vious that when the previous discharge of carbid has been decomposed, and thejga's generated thereby has been consumed, the

volume of gas will be diminished in the gas bell, and that as a result this member will agai'nmovedownwardly. lVhen the gasbell is moved downward a sufficient distance, it

will, of course, depress the tubular member 35 so that the carbid which has been previously disposed in the mouth 33 will be per- 7 mitted to drop into the water, and the further issuance of the carbid from the hopper will be prevented by the tubular valve member 35, which will seal the lower end of the member 17 in the manner shown in Fig. 1. It will thus be seen that the valve will be automatically operated in accordance with the variation in the volume of gas in the bell to feed the carbid into the water so that a continuous generation of gas will take place. lVhen it is desired to again recharge the hopper and to remove the residuum from the member 16, the closure cap 64 is first removed, and the gas bell is then lifted out of the casing 13 by means of the handle 65. The operator then grasps thehandle 1 1 and lifts out the hopper 17. It is obvious that when the hopper is lifted out by means of the handle 44, the disk 36 will be moved into sealing position at the lower terminal of the mouth 23, so that any carbid which may remain in the hopper will not be permitted to accidentally escape into the water.

In reduction to practice, it has been found that the form of this invention, illustrated in the drawings, and referred to in the above description as the preferred embodiment, is the most efficient and practical; yet realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoption of this device will necessarily vary, it is desirable to emphasize thefact that various minor changes in details of con- 7 claims.

What is claimed is 1. Inan acetylene gas generator, a cal-bid hopper having its lower portion conical and formed with a discharge opening at the apex, a sleeve surrounding the discharge opening and depending from the lower end of the hopper, a second sleeve supported vertically within the hopper in line with the discharge opening thereof and spaced at its lower end fromthe lower end of the hopper, a valve mounted in the second sleeve and adapted to project above the hopper and to have its lower end extend across the space formed between the two sleeves, a second valve suspended below the first-mentioned sleeve and adapted to close the lower end thereof, a stem adjustably supporting the second valve and adjustably connected to the first-mentioned valve, and a float attached to the lower end of the stem.

v V 2. In an acetylene gas generator, a carbid ical and formed at the apex with a discharge 'with the discharge opening thereof and spaced at its lower end from the first-mentioned sleeve and connected at its upper end to the top of the hopper, a tubular valve mounted in the second sleeve and adapted to project above the hopper in one position and to extend across the space between the two sleeves 1n another posltion, a stem provided at its lower end with a float and having adjustable connection at its upper end with the tubular valve, and a second valve adjustably connected with the stem and disposed below the first mentioned sleeve and adapted to close the lower end thereof.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM M. REECE. [L.s.] Witnesses:

CONRAD OSTERTAG, CHAS. L. FIRKINS.

Copies of this patent may be obtainedfor five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent Washington, D. C. 

